My thing is....why does the media feel like Payton has all the leverage here when IMO Benson does. Benson has fallen on the sword a far worse infractions when it comes to Payton.....the Vicoden scandal. He's has to pay to settlement out of court for that to avoid criminal investigation. He's also covered SP when it comes to his friendship and hiring of a convicted felon.......whether SP was actually at fault for some of these things it doesn't matter.

Payton owes Benson whole lot more than Benson owes Payton. Because the reason Goodell tanked the Saints this season isn't really for the so called bounties...its for the reasons I listed above that he had no power to punish Payton for. Benson can easily tell Payton "look....we had a horrible season...but its because of you're actions or inactions. I gave you full autonomy over the team and you mishandled it by hiring friends that have questionable history. Letting your DC run a system that is normal in lockerooms, but you didn't make sure yourself to put it to an end when the investigators came knocking, instead you delegated and it still went on. I've had to come out of my own pocket to protect the franchise from a Vicoden scandal that went on under your watch and pay 500K of my own money to pay a fine because you didn't follow up on a simple order. So you're going to sign whatever I put in front of you....."

Lets face it...we all love Payton as a coach...but a lot of shady s*** has gone on in that organization under his watch that he hasn't really had to answer for at all....IMO Benson should use that to his advantage in negotiations.

Sean Payton 'not close' to deal, will keep options open - NFL.com
another prime example of how journalists use doomsday headlines to make a story of nothing, but I guess given the choice between writing about this or Katy Perry removing Russel Brandt from her twitter feed I don't blame them as much.
Payton is working for Benson as part of the Hornets, he won't be leaving.

You can't underestimate the effect of family. Peyton got divorced this year, and his children are in Dallas. If Jerry Jones offers him a ton of money that Benson won't match, how could anyone deny the possibility of his going there? Romo is SP's boy, and he's stated many times how good a friend Jones is.